Three Major Airlines Call for Veto of Arizona Antigay Bill

2.26.2014

By Neal Broverman

Will the other airlines step up?

While Arizona gov. Jan Brewer mulls over signing legislation known as the "refuse-service" bill which would allow businessowners to turn away LGBT customers if they offend their religious sensibilities, three major airlines have told Brewer to kill the highly-divisive bill.

American, Southwest, and Delta all condemned the legislation. From Fort Worth, Tex.-based American, which scored a 100 on HRC's Corporate Equality Index:

“There is genuine concern throughout the business community that this bill, if signed into law, would jeopardize all that has been accomplished so far,” Doug Parker, chief executive officer of American, wrote in a letter to Brewer.

From Atlanta-based Delta, which scored a 90 on the CEI:

“As a global values-based company, Delta Air Lines is proud of the diversity of its customers and employees, and is deeply concerned about proposed measures in several states, including Georgia and Arizona, that would allow businesses to refuse service to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. If passed into law, these proposals would cause significant harm to many people and will result in job losses. They would also violate Delta’s core values of mutual respect and dignity ... Delta strongly opposes these measures and we join the business community in urging state officials to reject these proposals.”

From Dallas-based Southwest:

“We believe in an inclusive environment that embraces and values each customer and employee,” Whitney Eichinger, a spokeswoman for the airline, told Bloomberg and The Seattle Times. “We could never support legislation that runs counter to our values of respect for each person and our strong nondiscrimination policy.”